Single-trigger mechanism for double-barrel guns.



No. 858,581. PATENTED JULY 2, 1907 L. L. CURTIS. SINGLE TRIGGER MECHANISM FOR DOUBLE BARREL GUNS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 26. 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l PATENTED JULY 2, 1907,

L. L. CURTIS. SINGLE TRIGGER MECHANISM FOR DOUBLE BARREL GUNS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.26, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 rmr'rnn s'ra rns 'm'rnn'r OFFICE.

LESLIE L. CURTIS, OF ONEONTA, NEW YORK.

SINGLE-TRIGGER MECHANISM FOR DOUBLE-BARREL GUNS.

To whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LESLIE L. CURTIS, of Oneonta, in the county of Otsego, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Single- Trigger Mechanism for Double-Barrel Guns, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying'drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in single trigger mechanism for double-barrel guns, in which both barrels may be fired successively, one after the other, by the same trigger, and either barrel fired initially, or either barrel may be fired continuously without liability of accidental discharge of the other barrel.

In the use of single-trigger doub1e-barrel guns, several conditions have to be provided for, viz; first, the recoil or kick of the gun after each discharge second, the rebound or forward action from the shoulder against which the gun is placed, and third, the involuntary pull upon the trigger during the rebound, which in most instances, causes accidental discharge'of the second barrel.

I have discovered that different individuals grip the trigger with. different degrees of firmness or rigidity; some retaining a firm grip upon the trigger during the discharge and recoil, thereby preventing what is commonly known as involuntary pull at the rebound of the gun, and avoiding liability of accidental discharge of the second barrel, while others pull the trigger more lightly, or with a sudden nervous jerk, so that upon the discharge and recoil of the gun, the trigger suddenly recedes from the finger and instantly returns .to its normal or operative position and re-engages the finger and accidentally discharges the second barrelupon the rebound unless some means is provided to prevent it.

' The essential purpose, therefore, of my invention is not only to obviate any li bility of accidental discharge of the second barrel aZaer the other one has'been fired, but also to provide means for selecting and enabling either barrel to be fired first when both hammers are cocked, and also to enable both barrels to be fired in quick succession without liability of accidental discharge of either, or one barrel may be fired successively independently of the other barrel by simply breaking the gun to cock the hammer after each fire. These objects are successfully carried out through the medium of a laterally rockable searselector, which is rockable vertically, and determines by its lateral adjustment, which barrel shall be initially fired, a manual for shifting the selector laterally, hammer-sears acting when the hammers are cocked to depress or rock the selector, scar-tripping pawls controlling the firing of the second barrel, an oscillatory governor controlling the action of the sear-tripping pawls, but normally thrown out of operative connection therewith by the depression of the selector during the initial discharge of the gun, and a detent for preventing interlocking connection between Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 26, 1906. Serial No. 302,991.

Patented July 2, 1907.

the governor and sear-tripping pawls upon the recoileither sear'to be selected and initially fired; second, to

cause the cocked sears to depress the selector and hold the governor out of operative connection with the seartripping pawls; third, to cause the rebound of the initially fired hammer to release the sear and allow the latter to depress the selector with sufficient force to throw the governor into position to engage and be held out of action by a detent upon the release of the trigger during the recoil, and fourth, to provide the governor with an inert body, as mercury, to retard its recovery until after the recoil is spent and insure its engagement with the detent to prevent accidental firing by the involuntary pull.

Other objects relating to the specific construction and arrangement of the parts involved in the single-trigger mechanism will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawingsFigure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a double-barrel shot-gun and my improved single-trigger mechanism mdunted thereon. Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views taken respectively on lines 22,

Fig. 1, and 33, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side elevation, simii lar to Fig. 3, showing the oscillatory governor as temporarily detained in its inoperative position which it asthe governor and sear-tripping pawls interlocked. Fig.

11 is an enlarged sectional view of the lower end of the sear tripping pawl and its spring detent. Figs. 12 and 13 are respectively an enlarged perspective and a sectional view of the slidable sear selector.

In order to clearly demonstrate the practicability of a my invention, I have shown the frame -1- of a double-barrel shot-gun in which is mounted a pair of hammers -2 and a cocking-lever 3, both of which are keyed to a pivotal pin4. The hammers 2 are held in their cocked position by suitable sears 5 against the action of the main springs 6, said sears being mounted upon a pivotal pin 7 in the frame --1 and are held in locking engagement with their respective hammers by individual springs -8. A triggerplate -9 is detachably secured to theunderside of the frame 1 and is formed with a trigger opening -10- and a rigid post ll rising therefrom at the front of thevopening --1(). A trigger -12 is pivoted at its 'front end at 13- to swing in.the opening in whichit closely fits and is provided at its rear I ends with hooks 19for a purpose presently .de

scribed. This oscillatory member is pivoted on a transverse axis to swing forwardlyandv rearwardly and its hollow upper portion is adapted to receive a moreor less inert element, asa bodyof mercury- 20-which is inserted into the hollow portion 17{ through an inlet opening -2l, the latter being afterward closed by a suitable cap or plug -22-', as best seen in Figs.

1 and 6, the purpose of which will be set forth in the description of the operation of the device.

Associated with the sears '5 are companion seartripping pawls -23 both of which are pivoted at their iront ends upon the same pin .13 to which the trigger 12 is pivoted and extend downwardly and rearwardly from their pivots, and are provided at their rear ends with suitable shoulders 24- for interlocking engagement with the hooks 19 of the pendent-arms 18 of the oscillatory member when the latter is released by the selector after firing, each of the sear-tripping pawls -23 being provided near its rear end with 'an upwardly projecting shoulder 25 to engage and trip the second sear when interlocked with the governor -17. The rear ends of the sear-tripping pawls -2S having the'hooks 24 are disposed in the paths of movement of their respective pendent-arms -18 and hooks 19 while'the upwardly projecting shoulders -25 are spaced apart some distance forwardly from the pendent-arms when interlocked with the shoulders 24'';to receive between said shoulders and their companion pendent-arms l8 oscillatory selectors 26- which are rigidly secured to a transversely,slidable pin or rock-shaft 27 the latter being in turn mounted upon the post 15- directly in front of the pivot -16.-. These selector fingers -26- are spaced apart a greater distance than the transverse width be'' tween the outer faces of the sear-tripping pawls-23+ and-:their companion pendent-arms 18 ,and are rigidly'connected to each other by a transverse-bar 2 8 having a forwardly projecting shoulder i29 of less transverse width than the distance between the sear-tripping pawls '-23, between which itplays or slides transversely. The sears -5 are provided with rearwardly projecting tail-pieces having lateral shoulders 5- projecting toward each other in a plane directly above the shoulders 25 of the sear-tripping pawls 23 and shoulder 29 of the sear-selecting device, which shoulders lie in substantially'the same transverse vertical plane, but are movable independently of each other.

The inner adjacent ends of the sear-offsets -5 are spaced apart a slightly less distance than the transverse width of the shoulder 29-, and the latter is movable transversely into-and out of registration with said offset ends 5 of the sears --5- for the initial firing of one or the other of the barrels, according -to which sear the -shoulder -29 of the selecting device may be in position. to trip. For example, if the shoulder 29 is moved to the right under the tail of the right-hand sear, this sear will be tripped first to fire the right-hand bar- 'rel when both hammers are cocked, while on the other hand, if it is moved to the, left, the left-hand sear will .be first tripped to fire the left-hand barrel. Any suitable means may be employed for shifting the selecting device, such means preferably consisting of a finger-lever '30 rigidly secured to a pin 3l which is journaled in the forward end of the trigger v -12' and its upper end is provided with a rearwardly projecting pin 32- which enters the bifurcated end of a lever ,33. This lever is pivoted at 34 upon the trigger and its rear end is fitted between and engages the inner faces of the selecting fingers 26 so that when the finger-lever 30, is adjusted, either to the right or to the left, the selector, including" the shoulder -29 and pendent fingers 26 are similarly shifted to the right or to the left, according to the position of the finger-lever -30.

A spring a tuated detent -35 is loosely fitted in a suitable socket in the trigger 12 and its upper end is'usually pointed, and adapted to enter one or the other of the two recesses in the under side of the rear end of the lever 33 to hold said lever and its actuating parts, as well as the actuated parts 26 and '29 in their adjusted positions. It is now apparent that the .lever 33- engages respectively the pin 32. and sear-selector at opposite sides of its fulcrum 34- so that by rocking the finger-piece 30 in one direction,

' the end of the lever 33 engaging the sear-selector 29 is rocked in the same direction, and the position of the finger-lever 30 indicates at once which barrel will be'initially fired after each break of the gun.

The oscillatory member 17, which may be hereafter termed, the governor, controls the operation of the sear-tripping pawls 23-, which in turn, controls the firing of the second barrel after the discharge of the first barrel, for as previously stated,l provide a pair of these-sear-tripping pawls, one for each scar, and also provide the governor -17- with a pair'of pendent hooks 19, which are adapted to interlock with one of the other shoulders 24 of the sear-tripping pawls '23- when the governor is in its firing position, as

seen in Fig. 10. This governor -17 is yieldingly held in its normal locking position withthe sear-trip ping pawls by a comparatively light coil-spring 40- 'wound around its fulcrum pin and having one end bearing upon the post 15 on the trigger and its other end engaged with the front face of the governor, as best seen 'in Fig. 6, while the body of mercury, or equiva-' lent inert body-.20- in the upper portion of the governor is normally at the rear of a vertical line drawn through the fulcrum of said governor to afford a certain degree of inertia which has to be overcome before the governor can be thrown from its normal position, and

also to aid the spring in holding the governor interlocked with the sear-tripping pawls 23 I have previously called attention to three conditions which have to be provided for in this class of guns, viz:

first, the recoil or kick of the gun; second, the. rebound or forward movement, and third, the involuntary pull of the trigger during the'rebound, which in most in- &

one of the sears, according to the position of the selector either to the right or to the left, engages and depresses such selector, thereby rocking the pendent-fingers 26- rearwardly to engage the arms 18 and throw the hooks 19 out of interlocking connection with their respective sear-tripping pawls -23 so that when the trigger is initially pulled to fire one of the barrels corresponding to the sear with which the selector is registered, such sear will be tripped to discharge the corresponding barrel, while the governor 17 and its hooks -l9- will simply be elevated irrespective of their sear-tripping pawls 23, which latter remain in their normal down-positions. Duringthis initial firing, the tail of the sear is elevated by the trigger and held by .its hammer some distance above the horizontal plane of the tail of the other sear, and immediately upon the rebound of the hammer the recess 41 allows the .spring -8- to instantly depress the tail of the fired sear against the selector -29 with sufficient force to throw the governor 17- forwardly, whereupon the inert. body 20, which upon the initial forward movement of the governor, recedes to the rear and soon recovers itself and rushes forward into the front end of the receptacle to retard the return of the governor when it reaches the limit of its forwardrnovement so that the governor will not return to its normal position until after the recoil of the gun is spent. Now, if a firm grip is maintained upon the trigger during the recoil and rebound of the gun, the'governor l7 is held up with its hooks l-9 above the shoulders 24 of the seartripping pawls, and consequently, the shoulders -19- will simply abut against the rear end faces of said seartripping pawls and not interlock therewith until the operator intentionally releases the grip upon the trigger and allows the latter to return ,to its normal position, in which position the. governor -17 will be rocked to interlock the shoulders 19 with the shoulders '2 iof the sear-tripping pawls. If, however, the trigger is pulled carelessly, or with a loose grip, allowing it to lecede from th finger and, e ur to i norma P s io during the recoil and rebound, it might, unless prevented, cause an involuntary pull upon the trigger and consequent accidental discharge of the second barrel,

I but to prevent su h a .Cflndition, I provide the shoulder 44. to engage theshould er 19 upon the return of thegovernor l7., such shoulder f44- being located some distance at the rear of the shoulder 24 of the adjacent sear-tripping pawl 23-, thus preventing the shoulders 19-- from interlocking with their sear-tripping pawls. When the governor .l7- is thus held from returning to its normal or interlocking position with the sear-tripping pawls -23, before the second barrel can be fired, the involuntary pull upon the triggenelevates the governor l7 out of engagement with the shoulder 44-, allowing the governor 17-- to be returned by its actuating spring to bring the shoulders 19- into engagement with the ends of the sear-tripping pawls 23- ready for firing the second barrel by the intentional release of the trigger. It is now clear that when a firm grip is maintained upon the trigger during the firing of one barrel, it is necessary for the operator to release and pull the trigger a second time before firing the second barrel, while if the .trigger is allowed to recede from the finger upon the recoil of the gun after the initial firing. the rebound causes an involuntary pull upon the trigger to elevate the governor to discharge the hook 19 from the shoulder 44, whereupon the intentional release of the trigger allow the hooks -19 to interlock with the shoulders 24.

- As the initial sear is tripped, its tail-end is forced by the trigger upwardly where it is held by the hammer so that when the trigger is pulled for tripping the second sear the load of the initial fired sear and the tension of its spring is entirely removed, and it, therefore follows that the pull upon the trigger is always uniform for firing both barrels.

What I claim:

1. In a. single trigger mechanism for multi-barrel guns, a governing mechanism lncluding a receptacle movable independently of the trigger and an lnerthody loose in the receptacle for retarding the action of said receptacle.

2. In a single trigger mechanism for multl-barrel guns, a governing mechanism including an oscillatory receptacle movable independently of the trigger, and an inert body loose in the receptacle for retarding the action of said receptacle.

3. In a single trigger sear-tripplng mechanism for double-barrel guns, n laterally slidable sear-tripping selector mounted on the trigger, manually operated means for shifting said selector from one sear to the other to determine which barrel shall be fired first, sear-tripping pawls for controlling the firing of the second barrel, means on the trigger for operatlng said pawls, and additional means actuated by the selector for forcing the last named means out of operative connection with the pawls during the initial discharge of the gun and allowing said first named menus to interlock with the pawls after such initial discharge.

4. In a single trigger sear-tripping mechanism for double-barrel guns, a. sear-tripping selector mounted on the trigger and adjustable alternately from one soar to the other to determlne which barrel shall be firedflrst, said selector having an independent vertical rocking movement, sear-tripping pawls, one for each sear, additional pawls each adapted to automatically interlock with and operate one of the sear-tripping pawls after the initial discharge, said selector being normally depressed by one of the sears when in lts cocked posltlon, and operating to disconnect the addltlonal pawlsfrom their sear-tripping pawls during the initial discharge of the gun.

5. In combination with the hammers, main springs, sears and sear-springs of a double-barrel gun, a pivoted trigger, a vertically rockable sear-selector adjustable laterally lnto and out of reglstrntlon with each of the sears to determine which barrel shall be fired first, the toll of the sear with which the selector is registered restlng upon and normally depressing said selector when the hammers are cocked,;sear-trlpplng pawls, one of whlch is adapted to engage and operate the other sear for discharging the second barrel, means actuated by the depression or the selector for preventing the operation of the sear-tripplng pawls when the trigger is pulled for the initial firing, and trigger-controlled means automatically interlocking with one of the seartrlpplng pawls after such lnltlal discharge to discharge the second barrel.

6. In a single-trigger senr-trlpplng mechanism for double-barrel guns, a selector adjustable into and out of registration with each of the sears to determine which barrel shall be fired first, sear-tripping pawls controlling the firing of the second barrel, a governor controlled by the selector and controlllng the operatlon of the sear-tripping pawls.

7. In a single-trigger sear-tripping mechanism for double-barrel guns, comprising clllatory governor adapted to interlock with and operate .sald pawl when the trigger is pulled, and means actuated by the cocking of one of the scars for throwlng the governor out 0t operative connection with the sear-tripplng pawl.

8. A single-trigger sear-trlpplng mechanism for doublebarrel guns, comprising a. vertically member on the trigger and adjustable laterally to determine which sear shall be first tripped upon the lnltlsl pull of the trigger, one of the cocked levers bearing upon and a sear-tripping pawl, an os-- rockable sear-tripping 3 tances, is the direct cause of accidental discharge of the econd barrel immediately following the firing of, the

ther one. I My invention is mo re specifically directed'to pawls immediately upon the discharge of one of the bar;

rels. This is accomplished by the rebound of the fired hammer 2- and its co-acting sear 5' which has its hammer-engaging-face cut away-or recessed at 4l sufficient so that when the hammer -2- rebounds to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, it will allow the spring .8 to suddenly depress the tail of the sear against the shoulder 29 with sufficient force to cause the pendent fingers 26 to engage the arms 18 and throw the upper end of the governor forwardly to the position shown in full lines in said Fig. 3 against the action of its spring 40-, thereby throwing both hooks -19- out of position for interlocking engagement with their respective sear-tripping pawls 23. This action of the tail of the sear upon thesear-selecting device 29 and its pendent arms 26 to throw the governor forward is, of course, instantaneous and occurs between the recoil and rebound of the, gun, and ifa firm grip is maintained upon the trigger to hold it up, as seen in Fig. 3, it is evident that when the governor --17 returns by its spring '40 towards its normal position its hook-shaped extremities 19- will simply abut against the end faces of their respective sear-trippingpawls, as shown by dotted lines in said figure, and before the second barrel can be fired-the operator will have to release his grip upon the trigger and allow it to return i to its normal position before the hook-shaped'extremities -19 can interlock with their respective shoulders 24- of the sear-tripping pawls, which are only employed to trip the second sear for firing the second barrel after the "discharge of the other barrel. When the trigger is thus firmly maintained in its fired position, as seen in Fig. 3, during the discharge and recoilof the gun, there is, of course, no involuntary pull, but when the trigger is pulled with less fir ness or strength, and

v the recoil of the gun causes the tri gerto recede from the finger, said trigger will, of course, return to its normal position by the action of its spring 38- and unless some provision is made for preventing the governor 17 from interlocking with the sear-tripping pawls,

) it is evident that about the'same instant that such interlocking connection was made, the rebound of' the gun from the shoulder would force the trigger forward into engagement with the finger and cause the accidental discharge of the second barrel immediately following a the discharge of the other barrel. In order to prevent this connection between the governor and sear-tripping pawls, and'consequent involuntary pull and discharge of the second barrel, 1 provide 'a shoulder or abutment -4 4" which is mounted upon the trigger-plate and projects upwardly therefrom into the path of movement of one of the pendent hooks l9, preferably on the left pendent arm -18 of the governor -17 which in case the trigger recedes from the finger upon the recoil of the gun, allowing the trigger to return to its normal position, engages said abutment or shoulder 44' and prevents both hooks 19 from interlocking with their respective sear-tripping pawls 23.

It is now evident that as long as the trigger remains in its down-position after being released from the finger onlthe recoil, the abutment '44 will serve to hold the governor out of operative connection with the sear-tripping pawls, until the involuntary pull upon the trigger elevates it, whereupon the spring +40- aided by the.

inert body 20, will rock the governor into position to permit the hooks 19- to engage the end faces of the pawls 23, and the intentional releasing of the trigger allows it'to return-to. its'normal position, thereby bringing the governor into position to engage its hooks l 9- with the shoulders +24 of the sear-tripping pawl ready to fire the second barrel. v

The principal purpose of the inert body 20, which is preferably some non-freezing fluent, as mercury, is to retard in a measure, the too sudden return of the governor to its normal position after having been forced iorwardlybythe discharge of the gun, for it is evident that by suddenly throwing the governor forwardly the inertia of the mercury will cause it to recede to the rear end of the governor, and by the time the governor has'reached the limit of its forward movement, the inertia of the mercury will have been overcome and it will rush forwardly into the front end at about the time it begins to return, thereby retarding byits own inertia, such return until after'the limit of the recoil of the gun, which causes the trigger to recede from the finger and return to its normal position; and allows the left-hand shoulder -19 to fall in behind, or against the abutment -44 to prevent accidental discharge by involuntary pull upon the trigger during the rebound of the gun;

It is now obvious'that the essential purpose of the pendent fingers -26 is to throw the governor out of operative connection with the sear-tripping pawls normally and upon the recoil of the gun, but they also perform anotherfunction of positively depressing the seartripping pawlswith the return of the trigger'to its normal position, that is, one of them, at least, is always interposed betweenone of the pendent arms 18 and the shoulder 25 of its corresponding sear-tripping pawl to i depress such pawl with the trigger while the other pawl is depressed by the end of the lever -33 which lies between the fingers 26. The shoulder or abutment 44- is preferably formed upon the end of a length-, wise spring 48-" which is secured by a screw 49 to the post l1. This spring48, and also the trigger-retracting spring -38 are located atopposite sides of and in close. proximity to the sear-tripping pawls .23, and serve, to hold said pawls against lateral displacement as the trigger is raised and lowered, both of said. springs having their rear ends provided with depending shoulders to enter suitable apertures in the trigger-plate to hold them against undue lateral movement, although the rear end of the spring 48 having the shoulder -44 has a slight lateral movement, and is provided with an inner cam face 50',' which is adapted to be engaged by the adjacent pendent-arm l8- or shoulder l9- to permit the governor -17- to'be rocked forwardly when the trigger is normal.

In the operation of my invention, when both hammers are cooked, the tail-ends 5- of the sears -5 are disposed in substantially the same horizontal plane, and

rocking the seartripping member in one direction, and means controlled by the vertical rocking movement of the sear-tripping member for controlling the discharge of the second barrel after the discharge of the first barrel.

9. In a singletrigger sear-tripping mechanism for double-barrel guns, a sear-tripping pawl, an oscillatory governor adapted to automatically interlock with the pawl, means actuated by the cocking of the sear to disconnect the governor from the pawl, and additional means actuated by the pull of the trigger for tripping one of the sears.

10. A singletrigger sear-tripping mechanism for doublebarrel guns, means actuated by the initial pull of the trigger to actuate one of the sears, a sear-tripping pawl for actuating the other sear, means controlled by the first named sear for controlling the action of the sear-tripping pawl.

11. A single-trigger sear-tripping mechanism for doublebarrel guns, comprising a vertically rockable selector mounted upon and actuated by the initial pull of the trigger to trip one of the sears, said selector being rocked in one direction by the pressure of the sear thereon, a seartripping pawl for tripping the other sear, and means controlled by the vertical rocking movement of the selector for controlling the action of the sear-tripping pawl.

12. A singletrigger sear-tripping mechanism for doublebarrel guns, comprising a vertically rockable selector mounted upon and actuated by the initial pull of the trigger to trip one of the sears, said selector being rocked in one direction by the pressure of the sear thereon, a pawl for tripping the other sear, but movable independently of the trigger, and means controlled by the vertical rocking movement of the selector for making and breaking connection between the trigger and said pawl.

13. 1n a single-trigger scantripping mechanism for multi-barrel guns, a vertically rockable selector adjustable laterally to engage and trip one of the sears upon the initial pull of the trigger, a pawl separate from the trigger for tripping the other sear, and means controlled by the vertical rocking movement of the selector for making and breaking connection between the trigger and pawl.

14. A single-trigger seartripping mechanism, for multibarrel guns comprising a vertically rockable selector mounted upon the trigger and adjustable laterally to-trip one or the other of the sears, a pawl separate from the trigger for tripping the other sear; an oscillatory governor mounted on the trigger and movable into and out of interlocking connection with the pawl, said interlocking conncction being controlled by the vertical rocking movement of the selector.

15. in a single-trigger sear-tripping mechanism for multibarrel guns, a sear tripping pawl separate from the trigger, an oscillatory governor mounted on the trigger and spring actuated in one direction to interlock with said pawl, and means actuated by the pressure of one of the sears to disengage the governor from the pawl.

16. A single-trigger sear-tripping mechanism for multibarrel guns comprising a sear-tripping pawl separate from the trigger, an oscillatory governor mounted on the trigger and spring actuated in one direction to interlock with the pawl, a vertically rockable selector mounted upon the trigger and adjustable laterally to engage one or the other of the scars separately, said selector being rocked upon its axis in one direction by the pressure of the sear which engages it and having means thereon to engage and throw the governor out of interlocking connection with the pawl, said selector being actuated by the initial pull of the trig ger to trip the sear which engages it and the governor acting upon the selector to return it to its normal position,

and to interlock with the pawl.

17. In a single-trigger sear-tripping mechanism for multibarrel guns, a sear tripping pawl separate from the trigger, an. oscillatory governor mounted on the trigger and spring actuated in one direction to interlock with the pawl, means actuated by the initial pull of the trigger to engage and trip one of the scars, the pressure of said sear actuating saidmeans to disengage the governor from the pawl after said sear is fired, whereuponthe governor reacts upon said means to retract the same and interlock with its pawl.

18. In combination with the hammers, main-springs, sears and sear-springs of a multi-barrel gun, a trigger, and means actuated by the initial pull of the trigger to trip one of the sears, means on the sear to permit it to be acted upon by its spring during the rebound of the hammer, a sear-tripping pawl for actuating the other sear, an'oscillatory governor mounted on the trigger and spring actuated in one direction to interlock with the pawl, and means actuated by the movement of the fired sear during the rebound of its hammer to prevent the governor from interlocking connection with the pawl, a detent for preventing the return of the governor to its interlocking position with the pawl, and an inert body loose in the governor to retard its return toward the detent. I

19. In a single-trigger sear-tripping mechanism for breech-loading guns, a sear-tripping pawl, a movable member spring actuated in one direction to interlock with said pawl, said member carrying an inert body free to move thereon, in combination with the main hammer, and means controlled by its rebound after firing to throw said member in the opposite direction.

20. In a single-trigger sear-tripping mechanism for multi-barrel guns, a trigger, a sear-tripping pawl separate from the trigger, a governor mounted uponthe trigger and spring-actuated in onedirection to interlock with the pawl, said governor carrying a more or less inert body loose therein, in combination with n sear, and means actuated thereby for throwing the governor in the opposite direction.

21. in combination with the hammers, sears and trigger of a multi-barrel gun, means to trip one of the sears, and additional means actuated by the rebound of the fired hammer for preventing the tripping of the other sear by the involuntary pull upon the trigger. V

22. In combination with the hammer. sears and trigger of a multi-barrel gun, means to trip one of the sears, and additional means actuated by the tripped sear to prevent tripping of the second sear by the involuntary pull upon the trigger during the rebound'of the gun.

23. In a single trigger mechanism for double barrel guns, separate firing mechanisms, one for each barrel, and means for governing the operation of said firing mechan; isms, said means including a movable receptacle containing a body of mercury, the receptacle being larger than the body of mercury to permit the movement of the latter therein for the purpose of governing the movement of the receptacle and preventing the firing of the second barrel during the recoil incidental to the discharge 0! the first barrel.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of February 1906.

LESLIE L. CURTIS. Witnesses:

LAURA L. DISBBOW, Anvs Snrnour. 

